Supermarket dominance is set to derail the UK’s food strategy – but alternatives can put it back on track

Our two sister reports show why the current, corporate-led approach to creating a better food system will fail – and highlight a better alternative.

Supermarkets are fundamentally unfit to deliver a food system that works for people, farmers, and the planet. But our two reports, Profit over Purpose: Why supermarkets will make the Food Strategy fail and Purpose over Profit: How alternative food retail can make the Food Strategy a success, highlight how alternative models could succeed where supermarkets fail. 

Key findings 

• The government’s food strategy is relying on supermarkets and other industry to shape our diets 

• Supermarkets’ need to maximise profit is driving this strategy towards climate breakdown, species extinction, and jeopardising food security 

• Creating a food system that works for people and the planet means rebalancing power, by dismantling and replacing supermarkets with local alternatives 

What’s the problem? 

Supermarkets now control over 96% of Britain’s food retail. But their near-monopoly comes at a huge cost. 

Foodrise’s report Profit over Purpose: Why supermarkets will make the food strategy fail reveals how supermarkets are structurally bound to maximise profit for shareholders, regardless of the consequences for farmers, public health or the environment. 

The findings expose a litany of harms: 

• Squeezing British farmers while supermarket CEOs take home salaries in the millions. 

• Undermining public health by prioritising cheap junk food over affordable fresh produce. 

• Driving climate breakdown, food waste, and biodiversity loss. 

• Locking households into a cost-of-living crisis where saving money trumps eating healthily. 

Government hopes that big retailers will drive progress towards a better food system is wishful thinking at best, delusional at worst. 

Our solutions 

In our companion report, Purpose over Profit: How alternative food retail can make the food strategy a success, we highlight the power of alternative food retail.  

From cooperatives and employee-owned shops to veg delivery vans and farm shops, there’s a patchwork of small organisations that put people first. 

Foodrise’s new YouGov polling shows strong public appetite for change, with 54% of people saying supermarkets should be run as cooperatives or employee-owned businesses – compared with just 16% preferring private companies. 

People want public purpose, not private profits. 

Across the UK, grassroots and community-owned initiatives are already proving what’s possible: 

• Deliver healthier diets, with increased fruit and veg intake. 

• Provide farmers with three times more income than supermarket supply chains. 

• Cut food waste and boost access to local, sustainable produce. 

Foodrise is calling for urgent government support to supercharge these alternatives that put people first – including investment in regional food hubs, fruit and veg prescriptions, and fairer tax treatment for independent retailers. 

What the experts say 

“Our food system is primarily controlled by ten profit-driven supermarkets, and the consequences are devastating for farmers, communities and the planet,” says Carina Millstone, Executive Director of Foodrise. “But our new data shows the public want something different: worker-owned food shops that put people and the environment ahead of profits. 

The government’s food strategy will fail unless it tackles supermarket dominance head-on and gives grassroots alternatives the recognition and support they deserve.” 

Our demands 

We’re calling on the government to recognise that the current ownership structures of UK supermarkets cannot support the action needed to achieve the priority outcomes of the food strategy, and instead back the solutions already taking root in our communities: 

• A new Food Chain Law to regulate supermarkets, stop below-cost selling and guarantee fair pay for farmers. 

• Salt and sugar tax revenues ring-fenced to lower the cost of healthy food. 

• Rules requiring large retailers to ensure half of protein sales are plant-based by 2030. 

• Investment and policy backing for independent, community-led food retail. 

Read the reports 

Profit over Purpose: Why supermarkets will make the food strategy fail

Purpose over Profit: How alternative food retail can make the food strategy a success